A LUSAKA marriage that had blossomed at the expense of another has withered after sixteen years with the wife accusing the husband of infidelity almost costing her life during birth.

However, the husband said the allegations were coming from a place of insecurity because his wife was his second in his marital Curriculum Vitae and feared that someone might replace her the same way she replaced he predecessor.

But 35-year-old Tasilai Salim of Lusaka’s Zanimuone West area showed no zeal of holding on to the marriage and wanted out.

She narrated how she almost lost her life during labour, while her husband, a 40 year old photographer from Lilanda, Maxson Chipeta was busy dishing out his ‘joystick’ to different women during the period that she was pregnant.

“When I fell pregnant for our last child, he would sleep out with other women and I would be sick, so one day, he came back home from his outings and gave me a K60 so I can buy Inchila (traditional medication) to help me deliver well, but that didn’t work, I struggled to give birth and almost died in labour due to his promiscuity and he still didn’t care and continued with his side chick,” Salim said

Appearing before Matero Local Court from a two months separation period, Salim said her husband’s promiscuity started with his career as a photographer as she would find nude pictures of women in his camera all the time.

She shared that Chipeta’s philandering extended to their matrimonial home, as she was infested with Syphilis on four occasions.

In 2021, Salim narrated that she discovered her husband had paid dowry to another woman behind her back and later brought the other woman’s child to keep.

On top of that he also starved her of his instrument of power and prevented from mowing his manly lawn.

“He would sleep in the seating room, each time he slept in the bedroom, he slept with his clothes on because he was afraid I would touch him. One time, I shaved him, and nothing on him moved to show that he has feelings for me,” disclosed Salim.

In his defence, Chipeta accused Salim of being a jealous wife who did not understand that the nature of his 19 year old job as a photographer required him to capture women a lot.

However, he denied laying a finger on his female clients.

“She is my second wife and her fear is that someone might replace her the same way she replaced my first wife. She is so jealous over me that she doesn’t even allow me to laugh with my customers… As a photographer, I move a lot and I’m often required to sleep in lodges,” Chipeta defended himself.

He added that Salim sued him for divorce because she wanted his properties, however, despite that, he still wanted to keep her as a wife.

“How can you say that I’m after your properties when you literally ruined my life, I now have Seven children, who do you think can marry me with seven children? Also, those properties are not yours. We worked hard for them together. You and I,” said Salim.

Passing judgement, Magistrate Harriet Mulenga upheld the claim for divorce and ordered that Chipeta compensate Salim with K15,000, while he maintained their five children with K1,000 monthly.

“The court shall not order that you sell the house you are currently living in because your children are too many, instead, the house has been given to the five children that you have with this woman. [For] the ones (children) that you had out of wedlock, you will also build another house for them,” said Magistrate Harriet Mulenga.